Gifts We Love

I’ve never been one for gift wrap, but leave it to the Japanese to make me reconsider presentation. Furoshiki, the art of wrapping parcels and gifts in decorative cloth, is so practical and thoughtful I couldn’t help but be wooed.

It’s sweet to wrap up baby gifts in these gift-from-a-stork-style bundles, and makes whatever little treasures nested inside the scarf seem a little more special. It’s so lovely.

And so easy too. Simply recycle a scarf or make use of scrap material and start wrapping:

1. Lay the cloth flat with the bottom corner pointing towards you (the opposite corner will be pointing away from you and two corners will be directed left and right).

2. Place the object at the bottom of cloth with the corner exposed. Pull the exposed bottom corner over the object.

3. Hold the partially wrapped object in the cloth securely and tightly roll the object in the cloth in an upward direction to reach the top corner.

4. Position the wrapped object so that the exposed top corner is underneath.

5. Pull the left and right corners to the center of the object and tie securely. If enough cloth is available, tie together in a bow knot.